


I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

by One-Hit Wonders (HMSquared)



Category: Set It Off (Band)
Genre: Accidental overdose, Insomnia, Late Night Conversations, Laughter, Nightmare on Elm Street references, Pills, Songfic, Twitter, Wine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-26 13:17:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19006555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HMSquared/pseuds/One-Hit%20Wonders
Summary: Cody's latest bout with insomnia turns out to be his last.





	I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

**Author's Note:**

> I spent WAY too long trying to figure out Cody's eye color, so if it's not gray, let me know.
> 
> Enjoy!

It was 4 a.m., and Cody was exhausted. He was on his third handful of pills and had only written half of an album. His buddies would not be happy he was awake, but since when did he care? It wasn't like he had tried to fix this before.

For a few hours, he had been writing on his computer. However, the letters and numbers had started blurring together, and when Cody had poked his head out of the rabbit hole, he had found himself on Twitter with a draft he had deleted very quickly. Now he was on the sofa, writing on a yellow pad of paper as  _Nightmare on Elm Street_ played in front of him. His bandmates were fast asleep, leaving only the frontman zany.

He twitched as Freddy Kruger moved to kill his next victim. Cody had seen the movie so many times it didn't scare him in the slightest, and yet his neck still shook as blood splattered everywhere. His pen released ink lazily across the pad of paper; he had stopped paying attention a long time ago.

"I just need to sleep," he muttered. Reaching across the table, Cody downed his fourth handful of pills...or at least, what he thought, was his fourth handful. In reality, it was much more than the human body could sustain (about three bottles worth).

Now the movie wasn't making sense. Shutting it off, he leaned back and stared at the ceiling, trying to lull himself into a slumber. For five minutes, it seemed to be working, and then his mind wandered. Before he knew it, Cody was counting dots on the ceiling and laughing at nothing.

"Cody?" It was Maxx. He didn't bother turning around, continuing to stare at the ceiling instead.

"It's fascinating..."

"What's fascinating, buddy?" Maxx's voice was soft; this was not the first time he and his bandmates had dragged Cody into bed and tucked him in. The frontman shook his head.

"I never realized how many dots there were on this ceiling before." Maxx tried not to roll his eyes.

"Guess you weren't looking, Cody." He finally turned around, the gray pearls that were his eyes wide in euphoria.

"Will you sit with me, Maxx?" The drummer smiled, shaking his head.

"As long as it takes to finish one glass of wine. Cool?"

"Cool." Cody scrunched himself into a corner of the sofa and laughed to himself as Maxx poured a glass of wine and drank it down. Then, a minute later, he looked over and frowned. "You're not sitting with me, Maxx!"

"You're right, I'm not." Maxx had been deathly serious, but the glare Cody shot his way frightened him. Walking over, he sat in a chair and clutched his wine glass, sipping down the last of the red liquid.

Cody suddenly batted out his hand like a cat, sending the glass to the floor and shattering it. As he laughed like a jester, Maxx shot to his feet and cleaned it up. Normally, he would have been mad, but his friend was super sleep deprived and would win any fight they had at this point.

 

Not having a fight was the plan. But right after he threw the glass away, Maxx was pushed into the counter by Cody from behind. It was a light push, but the air was still knocked out of him and he was sufficiently pissed off. Turning around, he snapped,

"What're you doing, Cody?!"

"Picking a fight, what does it look like?" Cody pushed him again, anger on his face. Maxx caught his wrists when he went for it a third time and hissed,

"No!" Cody melted in his arms, the fury on his face turning to sadness and shock. Tears forming on his face, he sobbed,

"I'm sorry, Maxx, I don't know what I'm doing."

"It's not your fault, buddy," Maxx whispered as he pulled the exhausted Cody into a hug. "It's that damn insomnia's fault." He got a tired laugh in return.

 

"Maxx?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I go sit down now?" Cody's voice was wavering and he was swaying, but Maxx had no idea something was seriously wrong. Nodding, he whispered,

"Of course." Then he guided him over to the sofa, which was unknowingly a bad decision; Cody would have collapsed otherwise, and then Maxx could have done something.

Cody curled up on the sofa, knees going to his chest. Smiling, Maxx whispered,

"Finally falling asleep, buddy?"

"No, no, no..." Cody replied, voice already fading. "I guess I'll sleep when I am..." He cut off, drifting into blackness. The grin on his face widening, Maxx messed up his hair before walking back upstairs. Unfortunately, he didn't realize his friend would never wake up; the pills had finally taken their toll.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment!


End file.
